a golden colour, called the Pious Mother! which ftraitly embraces it, and keeps it from quafhing; round which is another more loofe, but tougher and ftronger next is the fkull, which is hard as a bone, and of remarkable tenacity, covered with skin and hair; thus defended, it cannot eafily be injured. And as for the heart, the principal of all animal life and action, called, by fome, the Sun of the little world, being that where the vital flame is conftantly kept up; how carefully is it depofited in the centre of the trunk of the body! tranfverfely in the cavity of the breaft, inclosed in its own membrane, called Pericardium, which contains a tranfparent liquor that facilitates its motion and prevents friction.

This was doubtlefs that blood and water, contained about the heart, which followed the spear of that vile mifcreant who pierced our Saviour's facred fide. Amazing love! that he should permit even this to be done after he was dead! that the world might be affured of the truth of his death. Oh the greatness of the wrath of almighty God, and the heinous nature of our fins, that nothing

lefs than the last drop of the heart's blood of our Lord could quench it, and wash them away.

In the heart is that crimfon fountain which fuftains the whole human fyftem; but how from the ventricles it is forced into the arteries, and thence diffused into numberlefs ftreams through the body, and returned again by the veins through the auricles to the heart, anatomy not being our fubject, I fhall not determine; but further notice, how the heart is guarded by ribs, flefh, mufcles, and fkin, near which are likewife placed the arms for its protection. By all which we see the wifdom and goodness of our Creator, in placing those principals of existence, namely, the brain and heart, with fuch fecurity in the body.

Should I fpeak of the members, we fhould find them no lefs wonderfully contrived and fituated to anfwer the conveniences of life.

But curiously and wonderfully as the body is framed, the foul is ftill more fo, being an immaterial, thinking fubftance, pof

feffed of powers immediately derived from God ; one of which is that of the underftanding, by which we difcern and have a knowledge of things, their fituations, qualifications and qualities, and form our judgements of them accordingly.

Next, the will, that power by which we chufe or refufe that which the understanding points out to be good, or hurtful for us. Likewise that of the conscience, by which we are approved, when we have chofen, loved, or done that which our understanding pointed out to be right for us, and reproved when we have acted the contrary.

Next, the memory, that by which we retain those things in our minds which we have understood or learned. And the imagination, which ferves as a handmaid to the understanding, and all the other faculties, by fupplying them with ideas; and is to the foul as the breath to the body, the fetter of all the other powers on motion; not to speak of the paffions, which, for noble purposes, the Moft High hath endued us with, but which, alas! are too often used to his difhonour.

The brutal creation, indeed, enjoy those powers in fome measure after their kind; to inftance only that of the dog for all. Does he not understand that which is good or hurtful for him? for, place him upon the edge of a high precipice, where, on the one fide, he can come from it with fafety, will he not difcern his danger in leaping, and fhew his will in choofing to come down the other way? And if he has often done a wrong, and been frequently beaten for it, will he not thereby become fenfible that that is difpleafing to his owner? And if he fee or hear his mafter coming the time he is doing that particular fault, as, for instance, lying in a bed or fo, will he not fhew his confciousness of it, and his fear of punishment, by his immediately leaping out, or giving over what he was doing? And does it not fhew his memory, when he has loft his master, in running to the different houses or places which he used to frequent, feeking him? and his thought, or confideration, at the meeting of two ways, when running before, stopping at an uncertainty, till fuch time as he fees which road his owner will take? And that he is poffeffed with paffions, is evident from his

affection for his master, fear, anger, and refentment of injuries.

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Now, fince brutes are thus endowed, this question will naturally occur, What pre-eminence hath a man above a beaft? I anfwer, A very great deal. The fpirit, or brutal foul, is from the earth, and anfwereth to man and the things of this life; and that in a very mited capacity: whereas the foul of man is from God, and anfwereth to God; and the things not only of this life, but also of that which is eternal in a very extenfive degree: being highly distinguished by the faculty of rationality or reafon, whereby it can discriminate and clearly diftinguish betwixt moral good and evil, truth and falfehood; affemble ideas, comparing one with another through means of intermediate ones; reflect and deduce causes from effects, and effects from caufes, and fo find out truth from error, right from wrong, a future state from a prefent, and delight in the contemplation of infinity itself.

What a noble creature then is the foul of man! True, indeed, it, by the fall of Adam, (as Mephibofheth falling out of his nurfe's